Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland

I must be in the minority because I found Sleepaway Camp III to be an improvement over Sleepaway Camp II. It's still not a particularly good movie, but I thought it was less sleazy and gross than its predecessor. The two sequels were filmed back to back over a six week period and to the filmmakers credit, they avoided reusing a lot of the same locations and shots. For whatever reason, the MPAA required extensive cuts to the kill sequences this time around, virtually eliminating all of the gore. Also, oddly enough, the movie features enigmatic character actor Michael J. Pollard delivering a goofy (and at times discomforting) performance.

Rating: 57%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers

The first Sleepaway Camp movie, released in 1983 during the "Golden Age" of slasher films, was a whodunit. The film's notoriety and continued popularity (?) is due almost entirely to the reveal of the killer's identity. In Sleepaway Camp II, we learn who the killer is in the first five minutes. Released in 1988, and followed by another sequel in 1989, Sleepaway Camp II is exploitation for the sake of exploitation. The nudity is gratuitous, the kills are frequent and ridiculous, and the story lacks any sense of logic. If the first Sleepaway Camp film was Gremlins, then Sleepaway Camp II would be Ghoulies Go to College.

Rating: 52%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Sleepaway Camp

If you've heard of Sleepaway Camp, you probably already know how it ends. The final scene is easily the most memorable part of the movie. The rest of Sleepaway Camp is definitely worth a look though, mainly because the tone of this movie is so sleazy/douchey. Almost every character in the movie is some kind of wise ass creep with a New York accent (quote: "Hey Angela, what's the matter with you? Don't ya know how to tawk?"). I've seen Sleepaway Camp a number of times over the years and my opinion of the movie has evolved from "this movie is stupid" to "this movie is decent." On this most recent viewing I actually noticed a lot more of the little plot elements going on between the scenes of assholes being murdered and children swearing at one another. Basically, if you haven't seen it before, it comes down to this: it's no masterpiece but this movie might be a little bit better than you think it is.

Rating: 62%

Fun Fact: One of the camp's cooks was played by Robert Earl Jones, father of James Earl Jones.

(Image from deathensemble.com)